United States v. George Davis and William E. Newsome

799 F.2d 1490, 1986 U.S. App. LEXIS 31098
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit
DecidedSeptember 22, 1986
Docket86-8154
StatusPublished
Cited by10 cases

This text of 799 F.2d 1490 (United States v. George Davis and William E. Newsome) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
United States v. George Davis and William E. Newsome, 799 F.2d 1490, 1986 U.S. App. LEXIS 31098 (11th Cir. 1986).

Opinion

PER CURIAM:

Appellants George Davis and William Newsome were convicted of various federal charges related to the theft, interstate transportation, and sale of a tractor-trailer rig and its contents. On appeal, they contest the admission into evidence of recorded telephone conversations, the instruction given to the jury regarding their entrapment defenses, and the adequacy of proof of the monetary value of the contents of the truck. They further challenge as improperly multiplicitous various combinations of the several counts for which they were indicted, convicted, and sentenced.

We reject appellants’ claims regarding the telephone recordings, the jury charge, and the proof of value of the stolen merchandise; we conclude, moreover, that appellants are procedurally barred from challenging on appeal the multiplicity of their convictions. Accordingly, we affirm the convictions. Nevertheless, we agree with appellants that one of the counts for which they received separate sentences is unduly multiplicitous of another count. Hence we remand to the district court to vacate the sentence as to this count.

I. BACKGROUND

On September 27, 1985, Michael Wright, a paid FBI informant, received a telephone call from appellant Davis concerning the delivery and sale of tractor-trailer rigs that were to be stolen. Wright was at FBI headquarters in Atlanta when he received the call, which was recorded by means of an attachment to the telephone receiver. During the conversation, Davis stated that appellant Newsome would drive one stolen truck to Atlanta, and that Davis could deliver another truck if Wright could provide a driver. Wright handed the telephone to undercover FBI agent George Murray, who also spoke with Davis.

Two days later, Newsome called Wright and Murray to inform them that he had stolen a truck the night before and that he was in South Carolina, two hours away from Atlanta. Murray then called Davis from Wright’s apartment to inform him of *1492 the communication with Newsome. Wright also spoke with Davis regarding Davis’ payment for the truck Newsome was driving as well as the possibility of future deliveries. This call to Davis was recorded.

Later that day, Wright, Murray, and another FBI undercover agent met Newsome at an Atlanta parking lot. Upon opening the truck Newsome had delivered, they discovered that it contained school composition books. Newsome explained that he had not had a chance to look at the merchandise, but that he could steal a refrigerated trailer of meat in the near future. When Newsome went to Murray’s car for payment, he was arrested.

Wright and Murray then called Davis to tell him that Newsome had arrived with the tractor-trailer, but that it contained only school books. Davis confirmed that New-some could deliver future loads and stated that he would accept $3,000 for his payment for the delivered truck. This call also was taped.

Four days later, Davis again called Wright at FBI headquarters in Atlanta to explain that he had not heard from New-some. During this conversation, which also was taped, Wright told Davis that he would wire Davis some money that day. Davis was arrested when he went to collect the money at the Western Union office in Scranton, Pennsylvania.

Davis and Newsome were named in an eight-count indictment that charged, pursuant to 18 U.S.C. §§ 371, 659, 2312, 2314, and 2315, conspiracy and substantive violations involving the theft, transportation, possession, and sale of a tractor-trailer truck and 22,000 school books. They were tried and convicted on all counts but one, which was dismissed by the government at the close of evidence. Davis was sentenced to five years in custody on the conspiracy count. He also received concurrent five-year sentences for the remaining counts, with execution suspended and probation imposed following his confinement. New-some received concurrent sentences of five years on four of the counts and ten years on three of the others, with execution suspended and probation imposed.

II. ANALYSIS

On appeal, Davis and Newsome present four claims challenging their convictions and sentences.

A. Admissibility of the Recorded Telephone Conversations

Appellants first contend that the recorded telephone conversations between Davis and FBI informant Wright were improperly admitted into evidence because the government failed to establish that Wright consented to the recordings. They argue that the recordings were inadmissible under the Federal Rules of Evidence and Title III of the Omnibus Crime Control Act of 1968, 18 U.S.C. § 2510, et seq., because the government neither called Wright to testify nor demonstrated his unavailability as a foundation for FBI agents’ hearsay testimony regarding Wright’s consent. We disagree.

Title III of the Omnibus Crime Act prohibits the admission of evidence gathered by the unlawful interception of a wire or oral communication. 18 U.S.C. § 2515. The act provides, however, that it is not unlawful “for a person acting under color of law to intercept a wire or oral communication, where such person is a party to the communication or one of the parties to the communication has given prior consent to such interception.” 18 U.S.C. § 2511(2)(c). Although the burden of proving consent is on the government, see United States v. Napier, 451 F.2d 552, 553 (5th Cir.1971), such proof need not consist of testimonial evidence. The burden also can be met by circumstantial evidence showing that an informant placed the telephone call knowing that the call would be recorded. United States v. Kolodziej, 706 F.2d 590, 593 (5th Cir.1983); United States v. Bonanno, 487 F.2d 654, 658 (2d Cir.1973); cf. United States v. Fuentes, 563 F.2d 527, 533 (2d Cir.1977) (recorder placed on informant).

Here, overwhelming circumstantial evidence demonstrated Wright’s consent to the recordings. A paid informer, Wright himself notified the FBI of Davis’ plan to steal and sell tractor-trailer trucks.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
799 F.2d 1490, 1986 U.S. App. LEXIS 31098, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-george-davis-and-william-e-newsome-ca11-1986.